stowell1976

i recently had to have my turbo cooler replaced... wife drove over a curb( yikes).. but now radio doesnt work, no chimes like door chime or seat belt warning... also tpms sensors not registering... everything else works fine all lights and such... car runs fine!!! any suggestions.. i pulled and checked all fuses... none are blown

843de

to the forum stowell1976!

Sounds like it took one hefty shot, I'd check the underhood fuse box to make sure its not loose, check the fuse panel in the passenger side footwell area for loose fuses and connections, and then check the head unit for loose connections. Something most likely got jarred loose when she nailed the curb, it doesn't take much.

ChevroletCustomerService

Is your wife ok? What is the year of your HHR? Have you contacted your local Chevrolet dealership about this?

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service

Grizzly old man

I will bet that removing your positive battery cable for a half hour or so will reset everything.

whopper

If the radio doesn't work, the door chimes and seat belt warning will not work (they depend on the radio).

Why not take it back to the place that fixed it?

843de

You meant Negative battery cable right, you should never pull the positive cable off, its a really great way to blow modules and fry things.

You only pull the Positive cable after you have disconnected the Negative cable, like when you are replacing the battery, otherwise the positive cable stays connected at all times.

Grizzly old man

I don't know, it seems to me when I pull the negative cable off a battery that is not dead I almost always get a spark. For some reason when I do the positive cable first I rarely ever get a spark.

Although I have never had a battery blow up because of concentrated hydrogen, that is an experience I would like to pass on. It seems to me that the wheel well in the back of our HHR's is a good place for hydrogen to collect, I kinda figure that is why they use a tube to vent any gases to the outside of the body.

I guess your mileage may vary. I've only been messing with cars for about 45 years now.

Its the same when I hook up to jump a car I always hook up the positive cables on the dead car first then find a ground away from the battery to hook the other cable to. Generally anywhere on the engine is a good ground. I particularly like to hook to the boss the alternator is bolted to if it is accessible at all. Some of these newer buggies have their alternator located almost under the engine.

Helps hold down on sparks which could cause a battery to blow up.

843de

With computer intensive vehicles like the HHR which has modules buried everywhere, the risk of "Spiking" one of them by removing the positive cable first is very high. Its always best to pull the ground connection when dealing with electronic components, instead of pulling the hot side(positive).

With the vent tube properly in place and not plugged with road debris, there is little chance of hydrogen buildup in the rear of the vehicle, and any gasses would float up to the roof since hydrogen is lighter than oxygen.

Whether you pull the ground side or not, a small arc is to be expected every now and again when disconnecting a battery cable. Its best to loosen the terminal clamp enough that you can remove the cable swiftly and smoothly, but that's not always possible.

I'll leave the last word to GM from the service manuals...."When replacing or disconnecting the battery to perform service operations, it is imperative that the Negative battery cable be disconnected first. Failure to do so can result in permanent damage to the ECM, BCM, TCM, and other vehicle systems".

whopper

... to say nothing of the danger of shorting out your wrench/ring on your finger to ground as you undo the positive cable fastener. That ring on your finger will be red -hot in the blink of an eye man - it will burn you to the bone. Seriously!

And the wrench won't be pretty either - unless you want a reverse CRAFTSMAN/SNAP-ON etc. logo permanently burnt into your palm. That's a tattoo done the hard way.